Culture and Conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland

Lee Smithey

Associate professor

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Coordinator, Peace and Conflict Studies Program

Saturday, October 27, 2012

3:00-4:00 p.m.

Science Center 199

As part of Garnet Weekend 2012, Lee Smithey will offer a faculty talk based on his recent book, Unionists, Loyalists, and Conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland (Oxford 2011)

Many organizations and communities in Northern Ireland have used public ritual and symbols, such as parades, bonfires, murals, and commemorations to build and sustain collective identities during the region’s longstanding conflict. However, Northern Ireland is now in an important phase of conflict transformation. What role, if any, can symbolic rituals play in dealing with the past and improving community relations? Emphasis will be placed on Protestant unionists, and loyalists.